REPORT CARD: Special teams drag down GPA in Buffalo Bills' loss to Browns

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By Paul Gangarossapgangarossa@messengerpostmedia.com

MPNnow

By Paul Gangarossapgangarossa@messengerpostmedia.com

Posted Oct. 4, 2013 at 2:03 AM
Updated Oct 4, 2013 at 10:50 AM

By Paul Gangarossapgangarossa@messengerpostmedia.com

Posted Oct. 4, 2013 at 2:03 AM
Updated Oct 4, 2013 at 10:50 AM

Quarterbacks: Before being injured, EJ Manuel was mediocre but clean, going 11 for 20 for 129. Manuel continued to be tentative going downfield. He showed guts on the play that he was hurt, but the smart play wouldíve been to get out of bounds. Jeff Tuel looked like what youíd expect from an undrafted rookie. The moment was too big for him, and it showed with a bad interception to seal their fate. C-

Running backs: Fred Jackson did the grunt work with tough yards and two touchdowns, C.J. Spiller broke a 53-yard TD run, and Tashard Choice was solid in some spot work. No one had a big game, but the team stats were impressive. Itís skewed by Spillerís one big run, the rest of the time they were average. B

Wide receivers/tight ends: Ouch. Stevie Johnson was hurt in the first half, T.J. Graham was dinged in the second half, and Manuelís injury hurt the group as well. Robert Woods got the most attention, but it was too easy by that point for the Browns to lock him down with Joe Haden. Marquise Goodwin wouldíve been nice to have for this one. D+

Offensive Line: Against a stout defensive line for the second straight week on short rest, the O-Line can hardly be blamed. The run game was productive, if not spectacular, and both Bills quarterbacks were given respectable protection for the most part. Given the circumstances, it was one of the stronger performances of a unit thatís starting to gel. B+

Defensive line: Mario Williams had a pair of sacks, and Marcell Dareus was a force all night in stopping the run. Kyle Williams was particularly active in the first half and finished with eight tackles. The Browns were held to under 100 yards rushing, and the front four were a big part of that. A-

Linebackers: Kiko Alonso showed the world last night that heís a stud, showing off elite athleticism and instincts. Manny Lawson was key in stopping the run, and Jerry Hughes was constantly in the backfield as he finished with 1.5 sacks. The group was active and really canít be blamed for the final score. Gave up a few big runs to Willis McGahee that felt worse than they really were. A

Secondary: Aaron Williams had a rough night that couldíve been worse. He was burned on the first play and the pass was dropped, which only delayed the inevitable. He had good coverage later when Brandon Weeden tossed a perfect pass to Josh Gordon for a 37-yard TD that Gordon bobbled and brought in ó not much to do about that. He also had a bonehead unnecessary roughness penalty in the first half. Leodis McKelvin was solid in his first game back, but no special plays were made against two inexperienced QBs. B

Page 2 of 2 - Special Teams: This is where the game was lost. Travis Benjamin returned a punt 79 yards for the score that re-energized the Browns and their fans. He almost broke one prior to that and finished with 179 return yards. Not only that, but the Bills were forced to punt differently, giving up field position in favor of not giving him another chance to break one. Dan Carpenter did connect on a 52-yard field goal, and kickoff coverage was stellar, but thatís not even close to make up for the negatives. D-

Coaching: Doug Marrone lost a first-half timeout when he tried to challenge a play that wasnít able to be challenged. While itís understandable the playbook shrunk once EJ went down, it wasnít all that explosive prior to that. Questionable calls such as having T.J. Graham throw a pass woven in with a relatively conservative scheme the rest of the time doesnít add up. The defense was strong and the pressure scheme was effective. Coaching has to be blamed for special teams, as well, and dealing with injuries is also on the coaches. C-